Public procurement with a gender perspective. Achievements and challenges in Latin America to energize women-led enterprises as an engine for post-COVID-19 recovery.

The COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in 2020 has caused the most severe economic and social crisis in the recent history of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), deepening the structural challenges of gender inequality and limiting women's economic and physical autonomy and participation in decision-making. The relevance of successfully addressing the region's current challenges demands that governments use all the instruments at their disposal to promote sustainable recovery. One of the main public policy tools for economic reactivation is the transactions of goods and services carried out by the public sector. This means understanding government spending, through public procurement, as a tool for social development. This will set the context for implementing more inclusive actions that support the diversity of supplier entities and move towards the inclusion of women-owned businesses in procurement processes to achieve the full use of their potential. 

The Policy Brief "Public procurement with a gender perspective. Achievements and challenges in Latin America to energize women-led enterprises as an engine for post-COVID-19 recovery" identifies the main barriers that women face when competing in public tenders and collects some examples of good practices to operationalize the inclusion of women in public procurement and contracting in LAC. It also offers recommendations for harnessing the power of government procurement as an opportunity to respond to the economic and social crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on women and to advocate for sustainable recovery.